Former Huntsville cop says she was fired for reporting abuse

Last December, former Huntsville police officer Kimberly Webb, filed a federal lawsuit against her former employer and Chief Kevin Lunsford. She claims she was forced to endure repeated sexual and physical abuse from her supervisor — Sgt. Eric Scott — from 2013 to 2017.

Webb says she started receiving sexually explicit pictures from Scott as far back as 2013. And according to court documents obtained by the Houston Chronicle, Scott became physically violent with Webb on multiple occasions.

In January 2017, Scott reportedly “placed her in a dangerous arm bar and pressed the release button on her service weapon causing the magazine to fall out.”

A month later, Scott “kicked her legs from under her causing her to fall,” resulting in an injured elbow that Webb filed a workers compensation complaint for the same day.

Again in March, after having repeated advances rejected, Webb claims Scott “became more aggressive and physically violent toward her at the police station.”

She filed three sexual harassment complaints against Scott in total, and believes the third complaint cost her her job. Rather than receiving consolation for her complaints, Webb informed KHOU she was told she needed to treat her job like a “contact sport” and to “suck it up and move on.”

Her harassment complaint was finally transferred to Huntsville’s human resource department in March. And in April, she agreed to a voluntary polygraph test (given by the Huntsville Police Department) that she reportedly failed. A month later, she was dishonorably discharged from Huntsville PD.

Sgt. Scott’s sentence? A demotion in rank.

Though she denies it, Webb was repeatedly accused of reciprocating Scott’s advances, exchanging lewd texts and engaging in a relationship with him during her time in Huntsville.

Her attorney says the department “made an example out of her.” Echoing the sentiment, Webb mentioned she was warned about making complaints about fellow officers. “You don’t go against that brotherhood,” she said. “You don’t go against that culture.”

Kimberly Webb’s federal lawsuit seeks to regain her employment, recoup lost wages and legal fees, and to amass any cash award the jurors deem appropriate.

Ben is a trained journalist and professional writer who has published material — covering a wide variety of subjects — for outlets across the web. While serving as an editor and content moderator for The Texas Monitor, he also provides coverage for local Texas stories in an effort to inform the public and hold institutions and officials accountable.